


the best is yet to come

by niallszayn



Category: BBC Radio 1 RPF, One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Matchmaking, Unrequited Love, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-07-24 20:02:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16182182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niallszayn/pseuds/niallszayn
Summary: Nick is asked to DJ a wedding, which would be fine, if he didn’t used to be madly in love with the groom.





	the best is yet to come

**Author's Note:**

> i found out about this fest very late but immediately got so excited, even more so when i saw this amazing prompt (see the summary) by writcraft, the suggested pairing saying "any" and i immediately knew what i wanted to write. i thought this was gonna be about 3k long and then i could've kept going until 10k if i didn't have too many other real life commitments so here's what i ended up with!  
> thank you to writ for organising this fest and for being so lovely and accomodating! this was a lot of fun <3  
> title comes from the frank sinatra song of the same name.
> 
> don't own them, don't know them, and if you do please close this window immediately

****It’s not until Nick sees the groom that he realises whose wedding he’s been asked to DJ at.

Of fucking course it would be none other than bloody Louis Tomlinson, as if Louis was the rarest name on Earth. Eleanor - the bride, who’s the one who hired him - mentioned her fiancé about as many times as you’d expect from someone about to get married, and not once did Nick expect for her Louis to be his Louis. Or, _this_ Louis, more like. He never really was his, after all.

It’s been years since he last saw Louis, but his heart still doesn’t seem to have gotten that particular note, judging from the way it skips a beat and then immediately drops to the very bottom of his stomach when he recognises the man holding Eleanor’s hand as they walk into the café they agreed to meet at.

Even now, at 26, Louis looks as young and soft and beautiful as he did at 21, when Nick fell head over heels in love with him.

“Nicholas Grimshaw,” Louis crows, and bloody hell, he really hasn’t changed at all. “Never thought I’d see you again.”

He seems much less shaken than Nick feels, so Nick clears his throat and throws a glance at Eleanor, who’s smiling at Louis, before he says anything. As a reminder of what’s changed since he last saw Louis, maybe.

“Looks like maybe you should’ve told your fiancée not to hire your least favourite DJ, then,” he says. “Thought I was rid of you for good.”

“Nah, she insisted. And I can’t say no to her, can I?”

“Two of my friends recommended you from weddings they attended,” Eleanor says with a smile directed at Nick. “Sang your praises, really. And I felt like you really understood what I wanted, when we first met, yeah? So when I found out Louis knew you, I was thrilled! Not so much about that silly rivalry, but Harry assured me it’s really just disguised fondness.”

Nick makes a mental note to kick Harry in the nads when he sees him next, then says to Eleanor, “I’ll let you believe that.”

The problem is that he really does like Eleanor. She’s sweet and funny and smart and knows what she wants, working with her has been a pleasure so far because she has a plan for her big day and that makes Nick’s job much easier. So he already knows he won’t have the heart to make up some excuse and let her down only two days before the wedding. Even if she’s marrying Louis bloody Tomlinson.

The half hour they spend looking through Nick’s suggestions and comparing them to Eleanor and Louis’, as well as going through the schedule for the wedding so Nick will know when to play what, could be more awkward, honestly.

Louis hardly says anything directly to Nick and Nick focuses all his attention on Eleanor, who doesn’t seem to notice a thing.

Once they’ve left though, Nick groans so loudly every single person in the café turns to look at him, so obviously he has to leave immediately as well. On the bus, he listens to his music with his eyes closed, trying to focus on the lyrics instead of the thoughts running through his head. The dogs excitedly circle his legs as soon as he’s through the door, but Nick barely has time to scratch their ears before he collapses onto their couch face first, groaning. It’s probably a testament to his dramatic tendencies that Gillian doesn’t even look up from her phone where she’s sitting inches away from where Nick’s head hit the cushion.

“What’s wrong, darling?” she finally asks after Nick’s been groaning into the sofa cushions for a while. “Some boy broke your heart on the tube?”

Nick groans a little louder for effect, then turns his head so he can talk. “Gillian, how long have we known each other?”

“Too long,” she deadpans.

“Five years?”

“Nick! Yeah,” she says, affronted. “Almost ten, I reckon. How bad is your memory?”

Nick ignores her. “So you remember Louis Tomlinson?”

“How could I forget?”

“Did I just travel back in time or am I dreaming?” another voice asks from the hallway and then Alexa is there in Nick’s line of view too, sitting down cross-legged on the floor right in front of him. “Did you just say Louis Tomlinson? The ‘most annoying bloke ever who doesn’t deserve the perfect arse he has’, to say it in your words? The bloke you wouldn't stop talking about a couple years ago even though you never even shagged?”

Nick groans again. At this rate, his voice is going to be gone soon. “Yeah, him. I’m DJ-ing at his wedding.”

Gillian and Alexa talk over each other so quickly and loudly that Nick doesn’t understand a word, so he just lets them yell until they’re done before he talks again.

“I didn’t know it was him until I saw him today. Only met his fiancée before and she’s too nice to let down so soon before the wedding.”

“Oh, so he’s marrying a girl?” Alexa asks.

“Yeah,” Nick says. “He’s not gay.”

“Well, he’s not straight either, judging from your history,” Gillian shrugs. “There’s ground in between the two.”

“It was a few drunken snogs at parties,” Nick says. “It didn’t mean anything.”

“Not to him, probably, yeah. But are you sure it’s a good idea to be at his wedding?”

“It’s the day after tomorrow! I can’t cancel on them now, they’ll tell all their friends and no one will hire me for their wedding ever again.”

“It’s your decision, Grimmy,” Gillian says softly. “But I’m sure they don’t know every couple planning to get married in London. And you’ve still got your radio gig.”

Nick doesn’t even dignify that with an answer. At 34, his life plan involved the Radio 1 Breakfast Show, not mid-mornings on KISS, and it certainly didn’t involve being a wedding DJ. He knows he shouldn’t complain - he works in radio, after all, and he doesn’t have to worry about his bills being paid, he has more friends than he can count, it feels like sometimes, and two dogs he adores. He’s pretty content, usually. After all, his life is probably a lot easier than it would be if he were a high profile radio personality, he figures. Still, when he used to dream about the future, he imagined things to be different. And yeah, five years ago, he might have dreamed about Louis being a part of his future as well, for longer than he usually does even with people he’s seeing.

Nick met Louis through Harry, at a party he was too old for but let Harry drag him to. Their first conversation consisted of Louis misunderstanding Nick’s flirting as rudeness and being rude in return, which in return led to them being mean to each other 90% of the time they spent in each other’s company. Yet, for about six months, they kept meeting at parties, and at get togethers Harry was having. And every now and then, their snapping turned into angry snogging. Looking back, Nick thinks they probably should’ve shagged to get it out of their system, but the hot and cold thing he got from Louis kept him on his toes and interested for long enough to see Louis interact with other people, and worst, children. A man who’s good with kids is Nick’s ultimate weakness, there’s no denying it, and Louis was great with them. So, despite the fact that Louis was rarely more than civil towards Nick, it took him embarrassingly little time to fall madly in love with him.

But that was five years ago, and until today, Nick hasn’t even thought about Louis in ages. He can DJ at the bloody wedding reception of some bloke he snogged a couple of times years ago, no problem. He can, without hoping Louis will suddenly realise he’s made a mistake by marrying Eleanor.

And so he does.

On Saturday, he’s at the wedding venue before any of the guests, setting up his gear and taking in the set-up of the venue. It’s a big reception room on the ground floor of a fancy hotel and the dance floor is separated from the seating area, but close enough that Nick will definitely be able to see what’s going on from where he’s standing. Usually, he likes this because it makes it easier to read the mood of the room and pick the music. In this case, though, he would prefer to be as far away from the groom as possible.

The tables for the guests are round, eight chairs around each of them, and a long table on one end of the room that Nick assumes is for the bride and groom and their families. He’ll be staying away from that, then.

He’s almost finished setting up when the first guests start milling in. Harry’s hard to miss in his flowery suit, though the blue base colour is much more subtle than some other things Nick’s seen him in. Harry waves at him when he spots Nick and breaks away from his group of friends to come say hi.

“Why did you talk to Eleanor about Louis and me?” Nick says instead of a hello.

“What do you mean?” Harry asks. “There’s nothing really to talk about, is there? I mean, you haven’t seen each other in years and you never actually hated each other in the first place.”

“Hating him isn’t the problem,” Nick hisses, and Harry’s eyes widen.

“You still fancy him?!”

“Keep your voice down,” Nick says. “Maybe a little. Dunno. I haven’t thought about him in ages. That is, until he turned out to be my current employer two days ago.”

“Ohh,” Harry makes. “Oh, Nick, I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware that was such a big thing for you back then.”

“Oh, shut it, Styles,” Nick says, immediately embarrassed. “It wasn’t _that_ bad. And it most certainly isn’t now. Now go back to your friends and leave me to do my job.”

Harry pats his cheek consolingly - as if there’s anything to console him for, he should really kick Harry where it hurts - and does as he’s told, so Nick’s by himself when the bride and groom arrive.

And despite his brave words earlier, he can’t really do anything about the way his heart kicks in his chest when he lays eyes on Louis.

It’s just...he looks _really_ good in a suit, apparently, and his smile takes over his whole face in a way Nick’s never really seen before. Unfortunately, this is also what reminds Nick again that Louis is clearly happy the way things are and he has no business standing here and thinking about Louis as anything other than the groom at the wedding he’s been hired to DJ at.

Over the course of the afternoon, Nick can’t help but sneak glances at Louis anyway, no matter what he keeps trying to tell himself. Whenever someone gives a speech or a toast he gets pulled in by Louis’ stupidly bright laugh and the friendly abuse he shouts at his friends when they say something inappropriate. It’s torture, a little bit, and Nick genuinely didn’t expect to be this affected after all this time.

He gets to take a break during dinner - free, really nice food is his favourite thing about weddings - and Harry makes him squeeze an extra chair at the table he’s sat at. He doesn’t know any of the other seven people at the table, which makes him feel a little bad about never having met any of Harry’s friends, since he’s clearly friends with them all.

Harry’s on his right, and the bloke on his left is Irish and introduces himself as Niall as soon as Nick sits down.

“Nick,” Nick says, taking the hand he offers and shaking it. “Or Grimmy, I usually go by that when I’m DJ-ing at weddings.”

“How do you know Harry, then?”

“He was my intern for a while when he was at uni,” Nick explains. “Bloody terrible at the job, mind you, but he’s managed to endear himself to me anyway, so I’ve let him stick around.”

Niall laughs at that, loudly, with this head thrown back and eyes crinkling - Nick really doesn’t think what he said was that funny, but Niall’s laugh sounds genuine. It’s loud and cackling and very contagious, so Nick joins in after a few seconds, ignoring Harry’s affronted face.

Nick, Niall and Harry are the only singles on their table, and their chairs are very close since 9 chairs around the table is definitely one too many, so it’s easiest to just talk to each other over dinner.

“Being single at weddings is the worst,” Niall says while a server tops up the wine glasses on the table and brings Niall a new beer. “I don’t usually mind much, but doesn’t it feel like you’ve failed at something during a wedding?”

“The worst thing is not having anyone to snog on the dancefloor after midnight,” Nick agrees. “No lucky lady waiting for you at home, then?”

“Nah,” Niall says, taking a gulp of his beer and looking at Nick from the corner of his eye. “No bloke either.”

Well. “I had to break up with my last boyfriend because his celebrity crush was Paul Hollywood,” Nick tells him, only partly because he feels like he needs to match Niall’s revelation. “Can you believe that?”

“He’s not not fit, though, isn’t he?” Niall says, laughing again. “If you’re 50, that is.”

“Yeah! And he wasn’t, so I had to break up with him.”

“Just for that?” Harry asks. “That’s not very nice.”

“No, he did have other things that I stopped finding so charming after a while,” Nick says. “Paul Hollywood was just the last drop. After he said that, I was so busy thinking about it that I missed the rest of the episode of Great British Bake-Off.”

“And if that’s not a good reason to break up, I dunno what is,” Niall nods, nudging Nick lightly with his elbow. He’s left handed, Nick notices, because he holds the fork he eats the little appetizers with in his left hand.

“Thank you, Niall,” Nick says exaggeratedly and Niall laughs again.

Dinner passes quickly like that, and much more entertaining than these things usually are for Nick. It’s only partly due to the fact that Nick actually knows someone this time around - mostly because if it weren’t for Harry, he wouldn’t have sat next to Niall. Niall, who’s a right laugh but also makes Nick feel good about himself because he laughs at all of _his_ jokes, and somehow manages to talk exactly the right amount. Nick finds it hard to get along with people who talk so little he feels like he’s on the radio during his time off, just talking to himself. Almost worse are people who don’t let him talk or keep interrupting him to say their piece, Nick can’t really handle that.

Niall’s good though, mixes the stories he tells with bits of information about himself, asks a good amount of questions without prying and listens attentively when Nick or Harry talk. As dinner progresses, Nick also notices that he definitely pulls off his suit better than most other blokes around. Instead of going with the classic black, he’s chosen a light grey one with a white shirt and a tie that Nick really loves - it’s blue on top, with little orange dots and orange on the underside, which gives the whole look a nice twist Nick really appreciates. The best thing, though, is the waistcoat he’s wearing. Nick’s always liked a good three-piece-suit, and Niall wears his very well, as far as Nick can tell from sitting next to him. His eyes are also a shade of blue that Nick’s never seen, impossibly bright and deep at the same time - he quite likes them.

“So, Niall’s nice, isn’t he?” Harry asks as he follows Nick back to his DJ unit after dinner.

“Yeah, seems like a decent lad,” Nick says. They actually really hit it off, and Nick has always been quick to develop a crush, but he’s not gonna humour Harry like that. So what if he thinks Niall is cute. It’s neither Harry’s making nor his business. Besides - he’s here to work, they sat next to each other for an hour and had a good time, but that’s it. They haven’t exchanged numbers or anything, nothing has happened. Just two blokes having a chat over dinner.

Harry frowns but lets him be, wandering back to his friends and leaving Nick to his work. It’s only when he glances over towards the bridal table to check how far they are with dinner and how long he has before the first dance, that he notices he hasn’t looked at Louis since before dinner.

The heavy feeling when he does is gone, too, and it makes Nick realise something clear as day: nostalgia and memories of love don’t equal the actual feeling. He’s not in love with Louis anymore, seeing him again after all this time only brought back the memories very vividly. All he needed was a fit bloke to remind him of that.

With a grin, he switches the music to something more upbeat and watches as people start mixing at their tables, breaking up the seating order.

Games are played - Nick’s never gonna get married, or there’ll be a strict game ban, why are these things always so embarrassing - and then Nick can see on his schedule that it’s almost time for the dance.

He lets the song fade out and takes the microphone, walking towards the guests and the bride and groom. He’s so glad he’s seen his errors now, he’s not sure how this part would’ve gone with his heavy heart from earlier.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he says, and almost everyone turns to look at him. “My name is Grimmy, and I’m your DJ tonight. If you like what I do, I’ve laid out a couple of business cards, feel free to take them with you and hire me for your own events. Now, though, it’s time to put the spotlight on the really important people tonight: Eleanor and Louis!” Everyone cheers and Eleanor blushes a little, hiding behind her hand. Nick could bring up the fact that he used to know Louis, but that feels inappropriate and hard to explain, so he decides to keep it to himself and stick to the general concept he has for his wedding speeches. “I’m probably the person in this room who knows the least about the two of you, but I do know that you’re both incredibly nice people and clearly make each other very happy. Congratulations and all my best wishes!” There are cheers again, and Louis and Eleanor both gesture for their friends and families to shut up. They really are quite cute together. “And now, for the part we’ve all been waiting for - may I ask the bride and groom to the dance floor, for their first dance as Mr and Mrs Tomlinson?”

Over more cheers, Louis gallantly offers Eleanor his arm and leads her towards the dance floor, where Nick’s stepping back behind his DJ set. The guests all follow and form a ring around the couple, some of them already close to tears as Louis and Eleanor take positions.

The song they’ve chosen is “Lucky” by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat, which is honestly not as cliché as it could be, if Nick’s to judge from the previous weddings he’s DJed at. It’s quite sweet, really, and everyone seems to enjoy it as the bride and groom twirl across the dancefloor while Jason and Colbie sing about being in love with their best friend.

Over their heads, Nick catches Niall’s eye and gets a grin and a wink in return, which - talk about cliché. Embarrassingly, though, something in his stomach gives a jolt, the way it often happens when someone fit flirts with him. Because now that Niall’s standing, Nick can see how fit he really is. It’s not just his face, it’s his broad shoulders, strong arms and narrow waist and hips too, he looks fantastic in a suit. And probably out of it, too, but Nick resolutely isn’t thinking about that. It’s not like he came here for a hook-up, after all. It’s nice that Niall helped him realise he’s not actually still in love with Louis Tomlinson, which can only be of advantage in the long run, but that doesn’t mean it has to be any more than that.

So Nick focuses on his work that he’s paid to do and tries not to make it too obvious when he sneaks looks at Niall every now and then. He’s a simple man, and Niall has a great arse in those trousers.

He loses track of his resolution when he looks up again and suddenly Niall’s out there on the dance floor, dancing with Louis’ youngest siblings Ernest and Doris. They’re pretty small still, Nick would guess not older than five, and he only knows who they are because Niall and Harry explained it to him earlier. Doris is very ginger and Ernest is blond, and they’re both clearly enamoured with Niall. He’s taking turns letting them stand on his feet and swinging them around, then makes the three of them form a little circle to dance. Nick nearly misses his cue while he watches Niall pick both of them up at the same time, holding each one with one arm, which is so impressive and distracting that Nick almost misses the fact that the current song is over and he usually doesn’t want a silent gap in between songs.

It’s even harder to look away from Niall after that, and Nick’s almost relieved when he leaves the dancefloor holding the twins’ hands. If there’s one thing Nick likes more in a bloke than a good arse, it’s them being good with kids. This can be a problem sometimes because it makes Nick weak much quicker than he’d like, but in this case, he didn’t have much ground to stand on beforehand, if he’s really honest.

Nick spots Niall once more a little later by the edge of the dance floor talking to a very pretty girl - Nick tries very hard to ignore the sting of jealousy he feels, he has no right at all and doesn’t particularly want those feelings for another one of Harry’s too young friends after last time’s experience  - but loses track of him after. It’s probably for the best.

Until, that is, Niall shows up right next to Nick, two bottles of beer in his hands and a huge smile on his face.

“Hello again,” Niall says, and Nick blinks at him a couple of times before he finally manages to get out a,

“Hi?”

“Thought you could probably use a drink,” Niall says, handing him one of the bottles. Nick takes it wordlessly, still feeling taken by surprise and slightly out of his depth. “I hope beer is okay?”

“Yeah,” Nick says, shaking his head quickly and trying to gather his bearings. “I mean, it’s not my go-to-drink, but I do like it.”

“If you tell me your go-to-drink, maybe I’ll bring you one of them next.”

“You want to bring me another drink?”

“Well, not now,” Niall says, sounding amused. “But maybe later. Was thinking of hanging out here for a bit, if I’m not keeping you from your work?”

“Nah, I can do this and have a chat.”

“Cool,” Niall grins. “Thought you were good company earlier so…”

“You weren’t too bad yourself,” Nick teases. “And I saw you with Louis’ siblings. Figured you’d need someone grown-up to talk to eventually.”

Niall laughs. “They’re fun, but yeah, not really up for challenging conversations yet.”

“What’s a challenging conversation involve, then?”

“Oh, you know, the usual. The meaning of life, higher maths,...” They both laugh and Niall waits while Nick focuses on his equipment for a few seconds before he keeps talking. “No, you know, it depends I guess. I mean, I’m up for a discussion about politics or the effect British policies have had on Ireland with the right person. I have a friend who I can talk to about space for hours. But I’m also good with chatting about footie or golf or music or whatever the other person’s interested in.”

“Space, huh?” Nick asks. “And golf? Sounds like you’re a right old nerd.”

Niall laughs again. “Wait til you hear what sort of music I like and you’ll put more emphasis on the ‘old’.”

Nick gasps dramatically. “Are you trying to tell me you don’t like the music I’m playing?!”

“I do know the Eagles wouldn’t go over too well at most weddings.”

“The Eagles?” Nick repeats. “I’m starting to see what you mean, you really are an old man in a young man’s body aren’t you?”

Niall hums. “It’s what everyone tells me. Including my joints, got terrible knees, me.”

“Eh, you were fine lifting up two children earlier.”

“Watched me, were you?” Niall grins at Nick and Nick really hopes he’s not blushing.

“Anyway,” he says loudly.”Are you close to Louis, then?”

“Oh, very,” Niall says, narrowing his eyes at the sudden change of topic like he’s telling Nick he’s not forgetting what they just talked about. “He’s my best friend. Why?”

“Just ‘cause you seemed so close with his siblings.”

“Yeah, they’ve known me their whole lives,” Niall shrugs. “My whole family’s still over in Ireland so Louis’ family has, like, adopted me into theirs for when I can’t go home. All his sisters are like my sisters too, ‘specially since I only have a brother back home.”

“So how long have you known Louis for, then?” Nick wants to know. “Just ‘cause you’re obviously close to the whole family but we’ve never met before.”

“Oh!” Niall makes, pointing at Nick with the same hand he’s still holding the beer bottle with. It looks coordinated enough, still, but Nick takes a step closer just in case he needs to catch any falling drinks. “Right, Harry said earlier. You knew Louis before this? How? He never said anything to me, I don’t think.”

They’re heading towards uncomfortable territory now, but Nick decides it’s not giving away too much when he says, “Met him through Harry, way back when they were still at uni. Guess you could say we were the sort of friends that only hung out at parties.”

“And then you lost touch?”

“Yeah,” Nick lies. Or - sort of lies. He actively made them lose touch to save his heart, but still.

“How come you’re DJ-ing at his wedding, then?” Niall’s really persistent, apparently.

“Eleanor found me, not Louis.”

Niall’s squinting at him and it makes Nick squirm, focusing on his work a little more intensely than he has all this time to avoid looking at Niall.

“You obviously don’t have to tell me, you barely know me after all,” Niall says, softly. “But I can tell there’s more, you know? You’re not that great of a liar.”

Childishly, Nick sticks his tongue out at him, then sighs deeply. “Fine, I have no idea why I’m doing this and I’m definitely gonna regret telling you-”

“I’m a very trustworthy person,” Niall promises, nodding to emphasise his words.

“Alright, so the thing is I was in love with him and he wasn’t with me so I distanced myself from him to protect myself. Does that clear things up?”

Niall’s eyes are very big when Nick dares looking up to him, and he sets his beer down before he takes a step closer to Nick and touches his arm gently, just for a second. “Nick...now I feel bad for making you tell me. That explains why you looked so sad earlier.”

“What?” Nick asks. “I didn’t- when did I look _sad_?”

“Earlier! When we first walked in I saw you and wondered what made you upset.”

“You saw me before dinner?”

Niall laughs wryly. “Yeah, Nick. Hard not to notice you, innit?”

“What?” Nick asks again.

“I’m sorry I made you talk about this if it makes you uncomfortable,” Niall says, ignoring Nick’s confusion. He probably just meant because Nick’s up here by himself or something.

“Eh, wouldn’t have told you if it was that bad, would I? Not like I still have feelings for him now.”

“You don’t?”

“Thought I did for a little bit there,” Nick admits with a shrug and a self-deprecating smile. “But I realised that was just...nostalgia or something. Before Eleanor introduced me to the bloke she was marrying I genuinely hadn’t thought about him in ages.”

“Good,” Niall says. “I mean, it’s still sad, I guess? That he didn’t feel the same. Or that you lost touch, dunno. Looking at them now I can’t really wish they weren’t- shit, sorry, not that you wouldn’t...Christ, I better shut up before I embarrass myself even more.”

Nick’s laughing at him still when Niall turns around and disappears into the crowd of dancing people, leaving Nick feeling at once confused, relieved, charmed, embarrassed and lonelier than before.

Harry waggles his eyebrows at Nick from across the dancefloor when he catches his eye and Nick just rolls his eyes. He should’ve known Harry would be all over this.

To his relief - bigger than he’d care to admit to anyone - Niall shows up again twenty minutes later with a glass of wine in one hand and another with a clear liquid in the second.

He hands the wine to Nick, saying, “You still haven’t told me your drink of choice, but I thought I’d try this now. You don’t have to drink it if you don’t like it.”

“No, this is good,” Nick says. “Thank you.”

“Thought I’d be better off on the water for now,” NIall shrugs, lifting his glass. “So as not to say any more embarrassing shit.”

“You really weren’t that bad,” Nick laughs, then gestures towards where Louis and Eleanor are currently dancing with a whole gaggle of Louis’ siblings, positively radiating love and happiness with every look and every touch. “I wouldn’t want to change any of this, either, just so you know.”

“They’ve been together for almost as long as I’ve known Louis,” Niall says. “Can suck sometimes when your best friend’s already found his soulmate, but I’ve never really been able to hate either of them for it.” He laughs a little. “Did you know they used to date, before this? Like, right out of school, when they were 18, 19? Dunno what happened for them to break up but Louis told me he never really stopped loving her in between.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Nick nods. “I never knew what it was - thought he was struggling with his sexuality most of the time, to be honest - but I could tell he wasn’t like, emotionally available. To me, at least.”

“Well, if it makes you feel better,” Niall says, patting Nick’s arm again, “now that I know about this I know that he _has_ mentioned you before. Like, when I came out to him as bi he told me he wasn’t as straight as I might think he was. Said he’d had a thing with a guy for a while but it never went past a few snogs. That was you, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Nick mumbles, face hot. “So you know all there is to know about that, then.”

“Aw, shit,” Niall says, “I’ve gone and made you uncomfortable again, sorry. Sorry, Nick, Jesus. I’m really no good at this.”

“Shut up, Niall,” Nick says, trying not to come across rude. “You’re not the one DJ-ing at your ex crush’s wedding, are you?”

That makes Niall laugh, and he finally throws his head back again laughing like he did earlier. It makes Nick feel kind of accomplished.

“So we’re good?” Niall asks once he’s stopped laughing and Nick smiles at him.

“Yeah, ‘course. You can quit worrying now.”

“Thank fuck,” Niall says, sounding relieved. “Really thought I’d cocked it all up.”

Nick laughs, endeared again, but then one of Niall’s friends - Liam, Nick thinks he remembers from dinner - comes and drags Niall away for something Nick doesn’t quite catch because he’s a little busy looking at Niall’s face that looks almost regretful before he gives Nick another one of his corny winks.

“Don’t miss me too much, Grimmy. I’ll be back.”

He really is quite something, and Nick’s starting to realise it might not be as easy as he thought letting this be nothing more than a little wedding flirt. He doesn’t have much time to dwell on that realisation though, because Harry’s the next person to show up at his side, an all too knowing grin on his face.

“So, Niall’s nice, isn’t he?” he asks again and Nick groans.

“Were you trying to set us up?”

“I thought you might get along well, but you exceeded my expectations, actually. And he might’ve needed a little push to come talk to you. Twice,” Harry says, grinning devilishly. “Did it work?”

“I’m not here to hook up with anyone!”

“Well at least you look a lot happier than you did this afternoon,” Harry shrugs. “That’s all I wanted.”

Nick doesn’t have the heart to say anything mean to that. He loves Harry a lot, usually, and Harry loves him too. And his intentions were sweet, so sweet in fact that Nick gives him a hug for it.

When he pulls back, Harry looks surprised. “What was that for?”

“Being a good friend,” Nick says. “Which you are, most of the time.”

“Aw,” Harry makes. “I love you too, Nick. Now focus on your work, maybe, before anyone can tell you’re thinking about Niall’s dick-”

Nick tries to hit him and Harry laughs, ducking out of the way. “You know it’s true!” And then Nick’s alone again, except for the occasional guest expressing their music wishes.

Niall’s on and off the dance floor, sometimes with Liam and his girlfriend, Harry and another guy from their table with his girlfriend, both of them looking like supermodels. Zayn and Gigi, Nick thinks. Sometimes with other people Nick doesn’t know, sometimes with Louis, and he even dances with Eleanor once. He twirls a whole parade of girls across the dance floor but keeps smiling at Nick whenever he catches his eye, which helps keep the jealousy at bay. It’s clear everyone at this wedding is half in love with Niall, but Nick’s pretty sure Niall’s only winking at him. Which sounds dirty even in his head, so he has to spend a few minutes pulling his thoughts out of the gutter.

He didn’t come here to hook up with anyone, but if Niall were up for it, he wouldn’t say no. Mostly, though, Nick wants to get his number so he can take Niall out for dinner and have a conversation where he doesn’t have to also focus on his work. He still has so many questions to ask Niall, wants to know more about his love for space and his family in Ireland and even goddamn golf.

It turns 2am, then 3am, and the dancefloor empties slowly - first the children, then the older people, until only the under 40s are left. It’s usually like this, with few exceptions.

When Louis and Eleanor start making their way out of the room eventually, there’s whistles and some very inappropriate shouts, also nothing out of the ordinary, and the last groups break up soon after. Harry passes by Nick on the way out, kissing his cheek. “Are you driving home tonight?”

Nick nods. “Gotta get the equipment home safe, don’t I? Made sure to only have non-alcoholic drinks over the past few hours.”

Harry narrows his eyes. “But you had alcohol tonight?”

“One beer and a glass of wine,” Nick says, rolling his eyes fondly. “I’ll be fine, mum.”

“Text me when you’re home, though, please.”

“Alright, alright,” Nick says. “You get home safe, too.”

“A whole group of us are taking the night tube, I’ll be fine. See you soon?”

“Yeah, definitely. Night, Harry.”

“Night, Nick! Love you!”

Once he’s gone, Nick looks up again and finds that Niall’s nowhere around either, and his heart drops immediately. Great, so this either means Niall never actually wanted anything from Nick or he got caught up with the group Harry was talking about and is on his way to the tube with them, and Nick’s gonna have to go through Harry to get his number. He doesn’t know what’s worse, but he does know that it stings that Niall would just leave without saying goodbye. Actually, the more he thinks about it, the surer he is that the flirting was all in his head. Niall’s probably like that with everyone.

He finishes packing up and is still berating himself for being this stupid when he carries the first box of his equipment into the lounge of the hotel and someone says, “There you are.”

Nick sets down his luggage slowly. “Niall?”

“Was wondering when you were gonna come out here,” Niall says, taking a few steps towards Nick.

“What are you doing here?”

“Did you think I was gonna leave without at least giving you my number?” Niall asks.

“Oh.”

“I wasn’t, obviously.”

“I thought you’d be on the tube with the rest of them.”

“Christ,” Niall groans, “I must be even worse at this than I thought. So let me be really clear now: I could have left with them, yeah. But I didn’t want to, because I wanted to give you my number so you can give me a call and ask me out on a date so I can prove to you that I can actually be much more charming and funny than I was today.”

“Even more?” Nick asks, a slow smile making its way to his face.

At that, Niall finally smiles too, quick and happy. “Shut up, I kept making a fool of myself. But I reckon with some time to prepare for your,” he gestures wildly with both hands, “you know, everything, I reckon I could charm your pants off. Which leads me to the main reason I didn’t want to go with the others: I kind of really want to get my mouth on you.”

“Oh.” For once Nick, who talks for a living, is rendered speechless. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Niall whispers, and he’s suddenly right in front of Nick. “That okay?”

“Yes,” Nick breathes, and pulls Niall in by the collar of his shirt.

Niall laughs, a little breathlessly, and Nick didn’t know you could taste laughter, but he’s pretty sure he is right now.

Niall’s pretty strong, it turns out, but Nick isn’t complaining when he finds himself pressed up against the wall, one hand in Niall’s hair and one still twisted in the fabric of his shirt. Niall’s got a hand on Nick’s jaw and the other one pressed into Nick’s back, pushing their bodies close as he slides a thigh in between Nick’s.

Nick gasps and Niall bites at his lip before swiping his tongue over the burn.

“Fuck,” Nick says eventually, “You’re bossier than I thought.”

Niall grins, a little dirty. “You like it, though?”

Nick grins and twists them suddenly, so Niall’s the one with his back against the wall, letting out a surprised little “oof”. “Yeah,” Nick says, biting at his neck lightly. “I like it.”

“Sick,” Niall says. “So are you taking me home, then?”

That startles a laugh from Nick. “With me?”

“Yeah,” Niall says. “Only if you want, of course. But in case you missed it, I want to. Very much.”

He shifts his hips against Nick’s so there’s no missing how much he wants to, and Nick groans, dropping his forehead onto Niall’s shoulder. He might not get hard as quickly as these young’uns anymore, but that doesn’t mean his dick isn’t interested.

“I have to pack up my stuff, you know that right?”

“But then we’ll go?” Niall asks.

“Are you drunk?”

“Not so much you’ll have to worry about taking advantage of me,” Niall says. “If that’s why you’re asking.”

It is, so Nick finally kisses him again. “Then yes,” he says without pulling back, because he almost forgot again how good this feels in the few minutes they haven’t been kissing. They almost lose track of time until someone starts hoovering in the reception room and Niall pushes Nick back with a hand on his chest. His pupils are blown and his hair is messy, lips puffy red, and Nick can’t really think of anything worse than letting him go right now, but he knows he has to get his equipment into his car and drive them halfway across London, no matter how much he wants to say “Screw this” and just rent a room at this hotel.

“It’ll be quicker if I help you, right?” Niall says, and Nick nods, tries to focus on the task ahead.

“Yeah,” he nods again. “If I pack things up and you start carrying them out to my car we should be done within a few minutes.”

Niall increases the pressure of his hand on Nick’s chest. “Let’s go, then.”

“Wait,” Nick says, and Niall does. Nick licks his lips nervously. “You’ll still go on a date with me if we do this tonight?”

“Nick,” Niall laughs, sounding exasperated and not just a little fond. “Of course. You’d have to do quite a lot wrong tonight to scare me away.”

“No pressure, then,” Nick mumbles, and Niall laughs.

“Shut up,” Niall says and kisses him, short and sweet. “It’ll all work out. Now let’s get working.”

When Nick’s finally putting the last piece into the boot of his car, Niall comes up to him, leaning against the car with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face that promises trouble.

“So when you said earlier,” he starts, “that I was bossier than you expected. Does that mean you’ve thought about it?”

Nick groans, slamming the boot lid shut. His face is hot when he says, “No I have not-“

Niall interrupts him, laughing delightedly. “Yes you have! Nick, you were supposed to be working! At a wedding!”

“Shut up,” Nick says, but he’s laughing and lets Niall pull him close.  

“Make me,” Niall says, which is possibly the most cliche thing ever but also really fucking hot.

They end up snogging against Nick’s car like horny teenagers for too long before Nick finally manages to get Niall into the passenger seat of his car.

He doesn’t know how this drive is gonna go, isn’t sure what to talk about when they both know exactly where this night is heading, but he has a feeling Niall will manage to make it feel anything but awkward.

Nick didn’t expect to leave this wedding with a cocky bloke who’s even younger than Louis, but he also didn’t expect to meet someone like Niall. Who’s funny, kind, smart and sexy, all of which he can tell already from only the short amount of time they’ve spent together so far.

If someone would’ve told him this morning this would be the end of the night (or at least the end of the wedding) he’d have laughed. He still thought he was in love with Louis after all. And now he’s kissed a boy who’s so much more than he expected, he’ll make him breakfast in the morning and prepare for the fun his flatmates are going to make of him, and then he’ll ask him on a date again. And Niall will say yes again, and it’ll only be the beginning.


End file.
